He contributed to the rescue in extreme conditions of the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol on one of the great peaks of the Himalayas in 2018: Polish mountaineer Piotr Tomala was awarded the Legion of Honor on Saturday in Warsaw.
"This distinction represents the values that you personify: courage, overcoming its limits and the determination to pursue your passions, solidarity and freedom", greeted in Polish the French ambassador to Poland, Pierre Lévy, during the ceremony .
Elisabeth's companion in stride had not survived
Tomala was part of a team of Polish mountaineers who risked everything to save Elizabeth Revol in a groundbreaking operation in January 2018 on the "killing mountain", the Nanga Parbat (8,125 m), in the Pakistani part of the Himalayas. The Polish mountaineer Tomek Mackiewicz, companion of Cordée de la Francaise, had not survived.
"This is your response to the distress message by Elisabeth Revol and Tomasz Mackiewicz that allows you to be distinguished in the Legion of Honor," said Ambassador Levy to the press at his residence in Warsaw.
The other two mountaineers will also be decorated
Elizabeth Revol was saved thanks to an extraordinary ascent led by Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki, supported by Tomala and the Pakistani army. The men, who had been diverted from their climb of the K2 (8,611 m), are recognized as part of the small group of the best climbers in the world. However, they were unable to reach their compatriot Mackiewicz, whom Revol had had to abandon unconscious at more than 7,000 m altitude, to save his own life.
Bielecki and Urubko, who are currently on an expedition, will also receive the Legion of Honor as soon as possible, the ambassador said.